Bad weather to hinder MH370 search

BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhua) -- China's National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center (NMEFC) said on Tuesday that the waters identified as the probable crash site of flight MH370 will suffer adverse weather that will hinder search efforts in the coming days.

The NMEFC said there will be two rounds of strong wind and waves in the next 72 hours in the southern Indian Ocean. The first began on Tuesday morning and will last until early Wednesday morning, with northwest winds at a force of up to eight on the Beaufort scale. Accompanying rain will make visibility poor, and waves will reach as high as 4.5 meters, the center said.

The second round of wind and waves is expected to arrive early Thursday morning, with the same wind force and waves of up to four meters high.

Seawater temperatures in the area will be about 13.5 to 17 degrees centigrade, the center added.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Monday that new data showed "flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean."

THE HAGUE, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered here Monday to send a special envoy to Kuala Lumpur to deal with the matter of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

Xi, who was in The Hague for the third Nuclear Security Summit, has been closely following the search and rescue mission for the ill-fated flight, which disappeared early March 8 with 239 people on board, including 154 Chinese passengers. Full story

KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 (Xinhua) -- New analysis of statellite data suggested that the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 "ended" in the southern Indian Ocean, said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Monday.Full story

Also speaking at a press conference, chairman Tan Sri Md Nor Yusof said analysis and "rational deduction" have led to the belief that there were no survivors on the plane, which disappeared in the early hours of March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board. Full story

BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday has promised support for relatives of passengers after Malaysia announced missing Flight MH370 had crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

The Chinese government has sent personnel to provide psychological support and legal aid to relatives of passengers in Beijing's Metro Park Lido Hotel, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a daily news briefing. Full story

BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday urged international organizations and related countries to provide information that may help in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

"It is an international search. China hopes international organizations and countries will provide Malaysia and China with valuable information to help us conduct better targeted search work," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei. Full story

PERTH, Australia, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Australian Defence Minister David Johnston said Tuesday that his country is "doing everything we can" to search for debris of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

Everything is speculative until the debris is found, he told reporters, adding that no confirmed debris has been recovered yet. Full story